For king, country, and crown
by Rowana Renee
Summary: What would happen if Will hadn't been able to burn the bridge? *muahahahaa* I had FUN with this one. EVANLYN HATERS WILL LIKE! :


**Hey, I know you guys are going to hate me. But I want to test something out. *Wicked grin* Hehehe, I'll explain it in the A/N at the end...*Cackles and retreats to a cave wallpapered with WILLERS posters* ^;***

For King, country, and crown

For my king.  
For my country.  
For the crown.  
I will fight.  
I will die.  
I will burn.  
I'll go down.  
For the kingdom  
Will you follow me  
To the hallowed ground  
Or shall I fly alone  
To the glory of the last day?

Fire. There was fire everywhere, all around. It was in the sky, on the ground, shining on the water, its reflection gleaming on the already scarlet snow. The shadows of the trees had all but disappeared because of the light cast by the raging inferno. The whole world seemed to be alight with fire. Flakes of ash floated down from the sky, drifting, dancing, twirling, fluttering like grisly black butterflies from the heavens. The crackling of the flames nearly drowned out the other sounds, the worse sounds, but not quite. There were many other sounds. Screaming, howling, crying, shrieking, pleading, running, fighting, dying...

There are some things that can never be fixed, some failures that really matter. Not like failing to be on time for a meeting, or failing to pay a small fine, or even failing to remember something. There are some failures that can spell chaos, some failures that can hurt more than one person. Some failures can cause the downfall of a kingdom. Some failures are forever.

Amidst the rising smoke of the fire there was a shape visible, it was a grand white horse with a rider clad in armour as black as night. A sneer was on the riders' face as he rode across the battlefield, slaying all in his path except for the wretched beasts that did his bidding, or the army of men in horned helmets who fought like lions to help him acheive his goal.

On the other side of the warzone there stood a tall figure, his armour gleaming in the light of the fire. He had a noble look to him, though his eyes betrayed a deep sadness that no victory could mend. He heaved a sigh and lifted his sword once more, turning to the few of his men who hadn't yet been killed or turned traitor.

Among those men there was a fairly small figure in a cloak of forest green, with blended paterns of black, grey, and brown. His hood was up to hide his face, though clear emotion danced through his half-lidded eyes as he surveyed the chaos all around, the death, the terror, the fire. He was searching the surrounding area for two people in particular, though admittedly, to him, only one really mattered. He knew, somewhere within the farthest reaches of his mind, that he never would find the person he was searching for, but he was trying to avoid that thought as much as he could.

He looked up, somewhat startled, as his king spoke. "You all already know what I'm going to tell you."

Halt nodded grimly, eyeing the distant figure on the white horse.

Gilan looked away sadly, his voice trembling. "I'm sorry, my lord..." he whispered.

King Duncan turned to the young ranger, a look of pity plain on his face. "It is forgotten." he stated simply, not quite meeting Gilans' eyes.

Gilan shook his head and cast his eyes down once more. "Forgotten, but never forgiven. It can't be."

There was a moment of awkward silence before King Duncan spok again, this time addressing all of his men. "The kingdom is no more." he began.

That statement brought about a chorus of disagreement from the army. When they quieted down another voice spoke, this one belonging to one of the younger warriors. "We can't just let them win!" came the protest, "Surely there's _something _we can do!"

It was Horace, also known as the oakleaf knight, fury was in his voice and he stepped forward, a slight challenge in his words.

The king sighed and nodded to the young warrior. "You are brave, Sir Horace, but the time of a free Araluen is over now. The best we can hope for is that, one day, someone will challenge the new ways, and hopefully bring the kingdom back to order. But for now," he continued, seeing the horror coming over his knights, "We will give them a fight worth remembering us by. We will not fall like cowards before a slaughter, though fall we will. We will not bow before them to be murdered, one by one, but we will show them honour, and take as many of them with us as we can before we go to join the dead in heavens' halls. Let all those willing to stand behind the sword one last time say aye!"

At first there was dead silence, save for the sounds coming from the battlefield where those who hadn't been able to retreat earlier were still locked in combat with the wargals and Skandians.

Horace stepped forward, drawing his sword as he did so. "Aye!"

Halt nodded as grimly as ever, lowering his hood and reaching for an arrow. "Aye."

Gilan, sorrow still staining his voice, nodded slowly. "Aye."

Slowly but surely every one of the soldiers shouted. "Aye!"

King Duncan flashed a smile of approval. "Then fight we shall."

* * *

Fire, there was fire everywhere. Wills' eyes widened with terror as he saw the flames getting closer and closer to where he and Evanlyn were chained, just beyond where the battle was taking place. He gently shook his companion. "Evanlyn, Evanlyn!" he muttered, shaking her a bit harder when she didn't wake.

She looked up at him blearily before adapting a look just as terrified as his own. "Is it over? Are they going to kill us now?"

Will shook his head. "No, it's not over yet. I can't tell...We can't stay here though! We'll burn to death if they don't come back and kill us."

Evanlyn shrugged, tears springing to her eyes. "Who really cares anyway? Who knows _how _they'll kill us...burning may be better."

Will shook his head. "But if we can just get unchained we might be able to-"

Evanlyn almost rolled her eyes. "And what good will getting back to my father do if Moragrath's going to kill them all anyway? No matter what we do we'll die."

Will sighed and looked across the battlefield. "But it'll be worth it, won't it? Just to see them one more time? After all, we didn't exactly get to say goodbye, not for real..."

Evanlyn, once again, shrugged. "If you can find a way to get unchained you know I'll follow you anywhere."

Will gave her a half-smile before looking around for anything that could be used to get away from the grip of the chains. After about a minute he spotted it; a tent, just a few feet away. "Look," he said, nudging Evanlyn, "The tent."

Evanlyn frowned, confused. "What about it?"

Will started backing away, as far as the chain would let him. "If I can get the tent spike..." he muttered, trying to reach it, "Back up a little, I need a bit of slack..."

Evanlyn took a few steps back before looking at him again. "Are you sure it'll work? If you stab one of us..."

Will, having gotten the very tips of his fingers to the tent spike, glared playfully. "Oh, come on, don't you trust me?"

Evanlyn huffed. "It's not as if I can trust anyone else." she muttered, mostly to herself.

Will finally got a good enough grip on the tent spike and pried it from the ground, looking at it carefully before walking back to the pole he and Evanlyn were chained to. "Stay back, okay? It might slip..."

He wedged the spike through the loop the chain was attached to and gave it partiularly forceful shove, causing the chain to come loose as the loop was broken. He then used the spike like a hammer to undo the shackles themselves.

"Alright, Evanlyn?" he asked, a little nervous

Evanlyn nodded. "I think I still have all ten fingers and both of my hands."

Will smiled slightly, taking her by the hnd and heading toward the battlefield. "Come on," he said, "Let's go find your father."

* * *

Fire, there was fire everywhere. Horace could hardly see what he was doing, and the heat was driving him crazy. He'd already had to get rid of his helmet for fear that he was about to pass out. Gilan was somewhere nearby, using his sword in a highly effective manner, mostly out of lust for revenge, probably. After all, to Gilan, of all people, this battle was a personal one. He considered the whole affair to be his own fault. He was the one who had left Will, Evanlyn, and Horace to fend for themselves.

Horace, however, had already decided that it was actually his fault. He was the one who hadn't lit the fire properly, and to him it was not only his fault that the bridge hadn't burned, but also his fault that Will and Evanlyn had been caught. They had almost escaped, but then Will had realized that the fire wasn't burning anymore and had run back to the bridge to light it again, but then the Skandians had come and Evanlyn, being worried for Will, had tried to help him only to be captured herself. And Horace had done nothing, at least, that was how he saw it.

And now the king was about to die, and so was Gilan, and Halt, and everyone else.

He paused in his attacking of a wargal with his sword, thinking he could see someone familiar running through the crowd of the two armies, but then passed it off as an illusion and went back to fighting.

* * *

Fire, there was fire everywhere. The field was like a maze of flames, a dreadful labyrinth preventing escape of any form besides death.

Will looked back at Evanlyn, who was following close behind him, and tried not to look as scared as he felt. "We're almost there!" he called, hoping he didn't sound as bad as he thought he did.

Evanlyn returned the smile, but suddenly pulled back, terror written across her features.

Will frowned, wondering what was wrong, before slamming into what felt like a solid wall. He yelped and tried to back away, wondering what on earth he'd hit, when something had a rather sudden, iron grip on both of his shoulders. He looked up in time to see a Skandian glowering down at him, the mans' eyes flashing with fury as he pushed Will back and, before Will could move, lifted his battle-axe and lunged forward.

Will sent up a silent prayer that Evanlyn would be able to escape without him and prepared for whatever was about to come, but something crashed into him with such a force that he was knocked over. The impact was followed by a scream that was cut off in a matter of seconds. Will knew without looking what had happened. "No!" he screamed, jumping to his feet. The Skandian was grinning slightly and lifting the axe once more, turning to Will as he did so.

Will, at first forzen with fear, looked down and realized that he _did _have something with which to defend himself, and with a madness glinting in his eyes threw himself at the Skandian.

The Skandians' eyes widened momentarily, but then he growled in both pain and fury and struck Will with the axe, though luckily his strength was already fading, which prevented the blow from being fatal. The Skandian staggered back after what felt like hours, before collapsing, dead, upon the ground.

Will sighed and thought about taking the tent spike to use as a weapon in the future, which was looking shorter and shorter, but then decided against it and knelt beside Evanlyn, shaking her gently.

"Evanlyn...?" he whispered, shaking her again. There was no response, and Will already knew that no healer would be able to bring her back, not now. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and standing up, tears blurring his vision as he staggered past the dead Skandian, looking around desperately for the one person who might be able to make things right.

* * *

Fire, there was fire everywhere. All around there was nothing but chaos, madness, and darkness. The only thing to be done was kill and try not to be killed.

Halt grimaced as he fired another arrow, which met its mark without flaw. He'd already emtied the quiver three times, but he was recollecting the arrows from wherever he could and had two quivers, as he wanted to avoid using the saxe knife as much as he could.

By now he was almost mechanical, there was no longer any sense in identifying ally from foe; everyone was one and the same as far as Halt was concerned. He couldn't see the king anywhere, and to him that meant that anyone nearby was fair game. He had to kill as many of Morgaraths' men as he could, and if he accidently killed any of King Duncans' soldiers he was only putting them out of their misery.

He'd already decided that, since the battle was meant to be lost, it didn't matter who died. as long as he had the satisfaction of making Morgarath walk through a field full of his own men, dead and scattered.

He could see a small figure coming toward him and, though something stirred within him, fired another arrow, looking toward the next living thing before registering whose life he'd just brought to an end.

* * *

Fire, there was fire everywhere. But Will could finally see the man he was looking for; it was Halt, not too far away either. He just had to go a little farther, and then Halt would somehow make everything magically go back to the way it should be. Somehow.

As he got a little closer he realized that something wasn't right. No, something was very _very wrong_. Why was Halt looking at him with such hate? In fact, Halt looked like he was absolutely furious. Will supposed that it didn't matter, as long as he got to Halt soon.

Wait, something really was wrong. Why was Halt aiming the bow at him? It must be that there was someone behind him...he broke into a run, straight for Halt, ready to call his name and say everything that hadn't been said before...but then something slammed into him with such a force that he came to an abrupt standstill.

He suddenly felt horrible weak, and could feel something burning him. He couldn't tell what it was, until he looked down and saw a patch of red blossoming across the front of his tunic. He was feeling light-headed, and his vision was fading, but before the world faded to black and white he saw an arrow embedded in his chest. A black shafter arrow...

He took a few more steps, but something else hit him as well. He cast Halt a confused, somewhat worried look, before coming forward a little more. Red light flashed across his vision and he fell, and kept falling...

* * *

Fire, there was fire everywhere. The entire world was falling to ruin, and there was only a faint hope of surviving to see another day.

Horace was beside King Duncan, and both of them were looking at the one who had brought about the chaos that was this battle. It was Morgarath.

King Duncan turned to the warrior beside him. "Fight for honour?" he asked, nodding toward Morgarath.

Horace nodded agreement. "Make him pay."

King Duncan placed a hand on his shoulder. "Aye." he stated, turning back to Morgarath, sword in hand, and rushing toward him with the intent to kill.

Horace followed closely behind, and both of them reached the Lord of Rain and Night, attacking with fury and wrath.

Morgarath laughed and attacked with just as much fury, if not more. He wasn't really paying attention to Horace, as the king was more important as far as who to kill priorities went. "Adopted a new heir, have we?" Morgarath taunted, a sneer painting his face.

King Duncan, already rabid with hate, let out an almost animalistic roar and lunged at the Dark Lord, his sword inches away from the mans' throat...

Before Morgaraths' sword was swiped across his neck.

Horace watched in horror before meeting the eyes of the king again.

_"Fight for honour." _

Horace nodded and shifted his sword slightly before attacking Morgarath again.

* * *

Fire, there was fire everywhere. The sun was setting and a red moon was rising to take its place, casting an eerie glow onto the already blood-soaked land beneath the sky.

Halt gaped as he realized what he'd done. The boy had continued coming toward him after being shot, and Halt had sent another arrow at him, but the lad had given him a very confused look and had kept coming before finally collapsing almost right in front of him. It had taken him a moment to recognize the small figure, but once he really saw the boy he knew.

He'd just killed his apprentice.

He knelt down beside Will, who was still whimpering faintly, and grabbed his hand as gently as he could. "Will..." he whispered

Wills' eyes opened slowly, and he met Halts' gaze with a small sigh. "H-halt?" he asked, his voice trembling.

Halt winced at the confusion in Wills' voice. "I didn't know..."

Will, eyes wide, blinked several times. "Are...are you...gonna leave?" he asked, terrified

Halt sighed softly. "No, I'm not leaving."

Will whimpered again, this time seeming even more confused. "W...where's...K-king..." his voice trailed off and made a soft noise of distress, looking up at Halt with fear in his eyes.

Halt, guessing the obvious, tried to calm the lad. "Don't worry about King Duncan. He's already gone."

Will closed his eyes, his breathing slowing down considerably. "W-with...Ev'lyn..." he muttered

Halt nodded, having already assumed that, since Will was alone, Evanlyn had been killed. "With Evanlyn." he agreed

Will opened his eyes again, looking at Halt once more. "'m tired..." he whispered

Halt nodded, his grip on Wills' hand tightening. "Then go to sleep." he replied

* * *

Fire, there was fire everywhere. Crows and ravens fluttered about the battlefield. They screamed their chants of war, and death, among the songs of triumph and defeat as they flew.

One perched atop the pommel of a sword held by a dead warrior, while another pecked at the remains of the warriors' final victim.

The sword was stained with the blood of evil.

The dark lord had been vanquished.

History hasn't recorded who will go on, who became the next king, who lived to reign. History hasn't recorded what happened next, after the great battle. But history did record that, of the few people that survived to tell the story, among their number was one ranger.

That ranger lived on to become the greatest of them all.

* * *

**Fin. Sooo, what did you think? I know some parts were chee-ZAY, but still. ^;^ **

**You'd better not flame. Do you KNOW what I went through to write this? I listened to TEN songs by SARAH MCLACHLAN and another FIVE by EVANESCENCE for you people! I have bawled so much my eyes are going to be red THREE DAYS from now so, yeah, don't get me started...*Growls to self and hugs Willers* **

**Guess which ranger lived and you get a prize! ^?^**


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